Greenhouse Three
by Kerrymdb
Summary: Oneshot!  Neville Longbottom and Bellatrix Lestrange face off during the Final Battle for Hogwarts.


**A/N - This was originally written for the badgerchallenge over at Livejournal. Badgerchallenge is a community that offers Hufflepuff themed challenges. The prompts for this story were loyalty, Bellatrix Lestrange and an hourglass.**

* * *

**Greenhouse Three **

"Come out, come out wherever you are…" Bellatrix Lestrange called out with a singsong voice, the one her husband hated, saying it was worse than nails down a chalkboard. Which was exactly what she wanted. It frustrated opponents, made them think that she wasn't taking them seriously.

Which she wasn't.

How could she possibly take the Longbottom boy seriously? He was practically still a child, pretending to play at war instead of actually fighting. After all of their dealings through this battle, he had led her here.

To Hogwarts' Greenhouse Three. It was laughable really. All she needed to do was wait for him to appear and then let loose all of her rage and frustration with a well timed Killing Curse.

There was only silence surrounding her. Longbottom, wherever he was, wasn't making a sound. A slight shiver ran down her spine. She didn't like being back at Hogwarts. Not a good place to stage the last throes of the war. But the Dark Lord wasn't interested in the tactical aspect of the battle, only the theatrics. No place was better to stage the coup than Hogwarts. And so it was. No one wanted to mention the fact that the ghosts, the suits of armor, even some of the Forbidden Forest's creatures would all be on Hogwarts side.

But the Death Eaters had the Dark Lord, and in the end, that would be all they needed. There was no doubt in Bellatrix' mind that the Dark Lord would be victorious.

And that was where she should be, right next to the Dark Lord, his most faithful Death Eater. She wanted to be there when he finally triumphed over Harry Potter.

However, before that glorious moment, she had a score to settle.

Bellatrix motioned her wand at an hourglass sitting at a workstation. As the glass shattered, she hoped the sudden noise would frighten Longbottom, cause him to stir, give away his position in the Greenhouse so she knew where to throw the Curse.

Longbottom was better trained than she realized, as he made no reaction to the sound. Bellatrix found herself transfixed as the sand from the hourglass slowly tumbled over the table onto the earth.

Time was something that Bellatrix had never been overly concerned with. She knew that one day, the Dark Lord would reward her loyalty with the ultimate gift, a gift that would make seconds, minutes, hours a nuisance. How many times, before his downfall during the first war, did he promise to gift her with immortality?

The prospect was terrifying, yet beautiful, at the same time. Once she was rewarded, someday she would have to watch her friends and family grow old and finally perish. Beautiful Cissa an old widow? Her darling Rodolphus an old man, withering away? No, not Rodolphus. She knew that he would rather die than be anything less than virile.

Someday, they would all leave her. She would still be on this green earth, next to her master, the man that had given her such a worthwhile existence. An existence that would be so much sweeter when this task was complete.

Ever since the night of the Battle at the Department of Mysteries, Frank and Alice Longbottom's son had haunted her dreams. A reminder that she hadn't finished the job. If she had had her way, that night eighteen years ago, Frank, Alice and Neville would have all been dead. But the Aurors caught them before she had a chance to kill them all.

The need to kill this Neville began to overwhelm her. She couldn't stand one more night of Neville's face in her head. At first, right after the battle, in her dreams, he was meek, he was scared. But in the two years since, the Neville in her dreams gained confidence. He began to fight back, to taunt her. Mocked her, even, for not being able to kill him.

Once he was dead, Bellatrix was sure he'd leave her nightmares. Then she could finally have some peace.

"Hoping that if you don't come out, I give up and leave?" Bellatrix asked, her voice twisting and snarling. "I wasted away for thirteen years in Azkaban, boy. Another few minutes won't kill me."

Again, only silence.

Bellatrix thought over her options. She couldn't leave the door unguarded. If she started a search, with all the plant coverage in the Greenhouse, it would be far too easy for Longbottom to sneak out without her noticing. As much as she would love to simply start throwing off Killing Curses, some of the plants in Greenhouse Three were extremely dangerous. She could be killed if the curse hit a plant the wrong way. She found herself being strangely pleased by being able to remember some of her old Herbology lessons.

There was a sudden noise and she heard Longbottom yell, "_Accio_ earmuffs!"

_"Avada Kedarva!"_ Bellatrix peeled off the spell towards the voice, as quickly as she could. She had hoped to hear the satisfying thud of Longbottom falling down to the ground, dead. But there was only silence once again.

"Stand up and fight like a man!" Bellatrix screamed. Longbottom was smart. He was trying to play games with her. She wouldn't let him win. She wouldn't. She wouldn't. She wouldn't.

"I'm going to stand up now!" Neville cried from behind a counter.

"That easily, boy?" Bellatrix sneered. "Do you think me an idiot?"

"I know I'm no match for you," Neville yelled. "I…I just…I want to face you when I die."

Bellatrix gripped her wand tightly. That sort of bravery she could honour. A slow smile spread over her face. She had won. She could give him this last gift. "I promise on my Lord's life that I will not kill you before you face me."

"Thank you," Neville told her, still in hiding.

She watched in satisfaction as Longbottom rose slowly from the floor, wearing those silly earmuffs he had summoned. They must have sentimental value to him.

Before he was completely straight, Neville took two steps to his right.

"Stay right there!" Bellatrix screamed. Now she was tense. She wasn't going to let him play any tricks.

Neville raised his hands instantly. Bellatrix relaxed, seeing that he held no wand. Maybe she would take her time with this death. The Killing Curse was sometimes just too easy for her liking.

But then Neville's hand twitched.

And after that, Bellatrix saw what plant he was standing before and knew from those years of Herbology that it was too late. Thoughts flashed before her and she realized that she had failed her family, whom she vowed to keep pure, she had failed her husband and worse, she had failed the Dark Lord, all because of a bloody plant.

A fully grown Mandrake.

Before Bellatrix could shot off a Killing Curse to defend herself, he lifted the plant from it's pot and the sight of Neville's tear stained face was the last thing she ever saw.

* * *

The moment Bellatrix hit the floor, Neville repotted the Mandrake. With a sigh, (of relief, despair, or triumph, he wasn't sure) he threw the earmuffs to the ground. He couldn't quite believe that his idea worked. 

As he and Bellatrix dueled, and found themselves near the Greenhouses, he knew this was the only way he would escape with his life. As much as Neville had improved in dueling over the past few years, he was no match for Bellatrix, a woman with twenty-five years more experience, not to mention no moral code against using the Dark Arts. He knew he had to get her into Greenhouse Three if he had any chance to win.

Wiping his tears, he walked up to the torturer of his parents. Her eyes were wide and there was a look of surprise on her face, not unlike someone who had been murdered with the Killing Curse. Neville knelt next to her, thinking of all the witches and wizards whose lives had been affected by this woman. It wasn't him alone. There were countless others.

Taking his hand, and gently closing Bellatrix' eyes, Neville muttered the only words that might possibly give him a sense of peace.

"I forgive you."

With a nod, Neville stood up, summoned his wand and left Greenhouse Three, ready to rejoin the Battle for Hogwarts.


End file.
